Package Deal (32 page)

“No. Sh
e
’s not awak
e
, not yet
. But at som
e
l
e
v
e
l, sh
e
r
e
cogniz
e
s
that you’
r
e
h
e
r
e
. That’
s good.F
ee
l fr
ee
to stay as long as you
like
.And,
when
you d
e
cid
e
to go hom
e
, just l
e
t th
e
nurs
e
s know to call you wh
e
n
e
v
e
r
they
notice
a chang
e
.
You know her best.
” H
e
l
e
ft th
e
room.

“Squ
ee
z
e
my fing
e
rs again, C
e
c
e
. Mama’s h
e
r
e
.
E
v
e
rything’
s going to b
e
all right,
sweetheart
.”

Marcus turned to her
, keeping his voice low
.
“Amanda
, hon
. There’s something I have to do.
Will you b
e
ok
ay
if I l
e
av
e
for a
while
?”

H
e
r
e
y
e
s n
e
v
e
r l
e
ft C
e
c
e
lia
,
but sh
e
nodd
e
d
. “Y
e
s. T
e
ll th
e
nurs
e
s I’m not leaving
. No on
e
’s g
e
t
ting
m
e
out of h
e
r
e
.”

“You made that clear to the doctor. He’d be a fool to try. I’ll be back later.” He kissed her cheek, and left Cecelia’s hospital room.

Marcus went back to
Amanda’s
house
. The front door was still open.
Like when Cece ran out?
He took a seat on the couch and let his eyes roam the room, taking in details, looking for anything that might tell him what had spooked Cecelia.
He
was sure something must have drive
n
her out of the house when she was expecting both him and her mother in minutes. It was a while before he spied the student paper on the floor, picked it up, and put it on the end table. He rose
from his seat,
opened
the door and looked out, trying
to
visualize what Cecelia must ha
ve done. She knew not to run in
the street. He went into the kitchen, made a cup of coffee and drank it.

Marcus called Gregory Hillier, who said he would arrange coverage for Amanda’s classes.

“I don’t think she’s going to be in any shape to teach for the next couple of days, at least.No one knows how long it will be—the doctor didn’t say much.” He paused and gathered himself, afraid his own suspicions might be revealed in his words. “One
other
thing, Greg. I found a student paper at her house. Would it be possible for me to check to see what class he’s in? Maybe he was at her house before the accident.
”
Maybe
the student
knows something.

“Of course. When you come to the office tomorrow, just ask Beatrice to let you in if it’s locked. Tell Amanda not to worry about a thing. We’ll take care of her classes. Can I speak with her?”

“She’s
still
at the hospital
.”

“Marcus, I gather you and Amanda
…
t
he two of you are close?”

“Uh, yes.”
How many people knew? Could they tell how he felt about her? What did they know? Had she said anything?

“Give her our best.”

“I will. Thanks, Greg.”

Cecelia—almost killed by a car. Amanda—in shock.
He looked down at his own hands. They were shaking.
Delayed reaction?
He gripped his hands together. How could he help Amanda through this? And Cecelia. His heart ached for her. If this was what being a parent was all about, this feeling of helplessness, he wasn’t sure he was up to it. The grief he’d felt at his own parents’ deaths was nothing like seeing that precious child and being able to do nothing to make her better.

A door slammed next door.
Janet. Maybe she saw what happened.
He w
alked over to the neighbor’s house
.

“Janet? Can I ask you some questions?” The senior student with the dark
curly
hair nodded and ushered him inside. “How is Cecelia?”

She’s got some broken bones. They’ve sedated her to keep her quiet. We’ll know more after she’s awake. She was in surgery for a long time—it seemed like forever.”

“How is Amanda—is she at the hospital?”

He nodded.

“You don’t look so good. W
ould you like some coffee, tea?”

“Thanks, not right now.” He brushed his hair off his forehead as he looked back at the young woman Amanda used so often as a babysitter. “Did
you hear or see
anything odd just
before
or right after the accident
?”

Janet frowned. “Let me think.”She stared out the window toward the street
as if visualizing what had happened
. “I heard someone yelling right before
I heard the car
or maybe it was at the same time
.
I think it was Cece
lia.
I
t sounded like her. That’s why I looked out the window.
”
She paused and then added, “I heard
the
car trying to stop—the brakes were screeching
like forever
. But
by the time I’d run out onto
the porch, the car had already hit her.” Her eyes filled. “I didn’t actually see it
happen
.
No one else was around except for
a guy
who was
run
ning
between our houses up the hill
, but I’m not sure that had anything to do with the accident
.
People do that all the time—cut through the yards.
”

Marcus put his hand on Janet’s shoulder. “
Did you see anyone go into Amanda’s house—a student maybe?
You said you saw someone run up the hill. Was it someone you know?”

She shook her head. “Like I said, s
ometimes students take the shortcut up the
hill and
par
k
in the alley when there’s no
room on the street. You know how crowded it gets on our block.”

Marcus thanked her then
returned to the house and jotted
down
notes about what Janet had said. He walked up the hill, taking the same route
she
had
mentioned. When he knocked on several doors of the nearby homes, no one
could remember having
seen anyone
at the time of the accident
. But at the last apartment
house
, one student said
he’d seen
a
man
limping up the alley
the day before
—someone
who seemed familiar from
campus
, but he didn’t think he lived nearby
. He couldn’t
come up with a name or much of a description. All he noticed was that it was a man and he was limping
.

Marcus thanked him—
half of the five thousand students and all
of
the male faculty
.
Not a great help.
Maybe the student who dropped off the paper?
His investigative reporter’s intuition told him he had
to figure out what had sent Cecelia out of the house when she knew he was coming to get her.
He
had a feeling that once the shock wore off, Amanda would want to know as much as possible about what had happened to her daughter that day.

He
returned
to Amanda’s
house
and looked in
her briefcase
for
a grade book
. But he found nothing there or next to her desk.
He sat on Amanda’s porch and
studied
the street
, pondering
every possibility for
what might have happened
. Small signs of
the accident
the previous day were still visible—a dark stain near the far curb, shards of glass that glinted in the sun,
and
the remains of the milk carton
Amanda had dropped.

His heart ached for the child and for her mother.
How will this change things
between us?
He vowed to try to convince Amanda to move in with him.
No fast-driving cars where I live. If only…
But a
simple change of scene
ry
would not necessarily protect Cecelia from
danger
.
Why did you
run into the street
, Cece? You kno
w better.
Something must have s
car
ed you. What was it?
Who was it?

He
went home to shower, shave, and change clothes
before
returning
to the hospital
.

The next day, b
efore heading to campus,
Marcus
returned
to Amanda’s
house and
pick
e
d
up th
e
stud
e
nt pap
e
r. Aft
e
r his
early afternoon
class
was over
, h
e
w
e
nt to Amanda’s d
e
partm
e
nt
. Her
offic
e
door was lock
e
d
.

“Beatrice, could you let me in
there
?
I have to check on something for Amanda. Where’s
Carlton
?
I
s he i
n
class?”

She looked at the schedule. “I haven’t seen him today. He doesn’t have classes until late this afternoon. Maybe you could catch him at the library.” She let him into Amanda’s office.

H
e
found th
e
stud
e
nt’s nam
e
in th
e
rost
e
r
Amanda
k
e
pt th
e
r
e
.
Beatrice
gav
e
him th
e
boy
’s phon
e
numb
e
r
. H
e
was living in on
e
of th
e
f
r
e
shman dorms,
but
no on
e
answ
e
r
e
d
.